The No. 4 seed Kansas Jayhawks dominated early but survived ice cold shooting late to knock off No. 13 seed California Baptist 68-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena in San Diego last night. The Jayhawk defense stifled the Lancers in the first half holding them to just 22% shooting on the way to a 38-18 halftime lead. KU never trailed and led by as many as 26 before settling for a 22-point lead with just under nine minutes to go, but Baptist rallied with an 18-2 run as KU scored didn’t score in the final five and a half minutes of the game until a Tre white dunk put the game away with 13 seconds to go. Head coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks didn’t do much, but were just good enough to stay in the tournament.
KU finished just 4-for-19 from three but Darryn Peterson led the way with 28 points and finished 4 of 11 from outside the arc. Kansas faces St. John’s in the second round on Sunday. Tip-off time is TBA.
